What’s Behind Marijuana Names

The word marijuana is wrapped around with many controversies. There are endless debates about its regulation and abuse, its legalization, its recreational use and even how it is called.

The term marijuana causes a lot of debates even as various cultures became a little more herb-friendly as time passed by. For instance, some organizations such as Oakland’s Harborside Health Center has stopped calling it marijuana and publicly declared that it should only be called cannabis.

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A Brief History of Marijuana

To understand how it came to be such a controversial drug, let’s walk down the memory lane and breeze through its brief history.

During the Mexican Revolution, only the word cannabis was used. Back then, the drug was utilized as a common home remedy. Major pharmaceutical companies have discovered its potential and included its extracts in their medicines. The wealthy Americans of this period have seen glamour in its use that it has transformed into a fad and sensationalized by many celebrities.

As years pass by, many immigrants brought the habit of smoking marijuana to the United States. Although it has already been known to be a recreational drug, this particular form of consumption wasn’t as common prior to their immigration. In 1913, the Board of Pharmacy pushed the regulation of its use and cultivation. This affected the way people regarded marijuana after the Great Depression during the 1930s.

Harry Salinger started a campaign against marijuana that lasted for three decades. He was one of the first people who strongly rejected its used creating a stigma that rapidly spread with the recent development of movie theaters. He worked on detaching the medical wonders of cannabis to its name by creating a new identity for the plant. He consistently called it marijuana and attached violence, racism and satanic music to its name.

What’s in a Name?

Despite its reputation, marijuana has retained its popularity. Because of this, there are a lot marijuana names that people know. There is no other drug that can equal the number of the alternate names that marijuana has. It exists in history for centuries and in various cultures all over the world. The different marijuana names can be based on age group, culture and use.

Cultural Marijuana Names

South Africans call marijuana “dagga”. It’s called “ganja” in Jamaica, “Kif” in North Africa, “Mota” in Mexico and “Pakalolo” in Hawaii. The term differs according to geographic regions and with its existence all over the world, there is surely a new term for it in each language that exists.

Marijuana Names in the Streets

You can hear these terms as friends talk in the sidewalk, as code names for people who want to conceal their use or they can be simply called marijuana nicknames. They are Panama Gold, Texas Tea, Hash, Maui Wowie, Colombo, Black Russian, Chronic, Homegrown and Acapulco Gold.

The Most Common Marijuana Names

It seems that no matter what it’s called, marijuana is attached to a history of oppression, prejudice, race and politics without enough consideration of the advantages of the medical wonders it brings.